Guest Blog: Matt Kellam

As a child, I remember my father grabbing his metal lunch pail and wearing his flannel shirt, jeans and steel-toed boots heading out the door early each morning to work at the power station.  I also remember my grandfather telling me about how he started his career with the power company as a chemist, later becoming an engineer, and helping direct and lead the efforts for building Virginia’s nuclear power stations in the 1970’s.  My grandfather retired from the power company in 1985 after being with the company for 40 years.  My father retired from the power company in 2018 after being with the company for 45 years.

 

Oh yeah … my great grandfather worked for the same power company in the 1920’s and 1930’s as an electrician and station systems operator.  And, my brother currently operates some of the world’s largest heavy equipment, railcars and other equipment for the power company.

 

My name is Matt Kellam and I work for Dominion Energy.  I am proud of the fact that I am the fourth generation of my family to work for the company and that we have over 120 years of service collectively!

 

Why do I share all of this with you?  The Energy industry offers challenging, rewarding and very stable careers.  Energy will always be need.  And, the industry is quickly evolving, innovating and becoming more efficient and sustainable.  

In addition to working for Dominion Energy, I have also served as the chairperson for the Virginia Energy Workforce Consortium (VEWC) since 2016.  The VEWC was formed in 2007 to bring together the Energy industry, education, government and community organizations to create better awareness about Energy careers and to ensure a skilled, qualified, and diverse workforce to meet future industry needs throughout the Commonwealth.

 

Energy is an important resource for Virginia’s business community and its citizens.  The Office of the Governor of Virginia and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce have taken steps over the past decade to establish ambitious statewide goals and targets for clean energy deployment and expand upon the Commonwealth’s commitments to reduce our environmental impact, mitigate the impacts of climate change, and boost the clean energy economy in Virginia.

 

In order to accomplish these goals, it is important that there be clearly defined and easy to identify education and training pathways for Virginia’s K-12 students, college students, military servicemembers and veterans, and all our citizens to pursue. 

 

While years in the making, legislation was passed in 2019 adding a 17th Energy Career Cluster to the Virginia Department of Education.  In July 2020, the Energy cluster, it’s four pathways and eight elective courses went live and are available to high schools in Virginia to begin offering.  Virginia is the first and only state in the country to add an Energy education cluster by law, signaling the Commonwealth’s commitment to our Energy goals and need to build a skilled, qualified, and diverse workforce.

 

To date, more than a dozen of Virginia’s high schools and Career and Technical Education (CTE) centers are offering Energy courses and several are adding Energy academies and pathway programs in 2021 – 2022.

 

The VEWC and our members have also been working closely with the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) and a number of community colleges to add Energy courses, curricula and workforce training programs.  Working with our community college members and partners is extremely important to ensure continuing Energy education pathways, stackable credential models, dual enrolled courses, and skill set specific programs that lead to our meaningful Energy careers.

 

Southside Virginia and Wytheville Community Colleges offer top, industry recognized Electrical Power Line Worker training programs.  Paul D. Camp Community College offers an Energy Technology Career Studies Certificate.  Several community colleges offer solar courses and solar installer training programs.  Danville Community College offers an Electrical / Electronic Engineering Technology program helping to prepare students for careers as engineering, installation and repair, power house, substation, and relay technicians.  These programs were implemented due to the demonstrated workforce demands and in partnership between the Energy industry and the respective schools.

 

Although not part of the VCCS, Centura College and other for profit education and training providers are also partnering with Energy to offer needed programs.  In Norfolk, VA, Centura is launching a Wind Turbine Technician program in support of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, as well as a similar offshore wind project off the coast of northeastern North Carolina.

 

The Commonwealth of Virginia is fortunate to have such a strong community college system, certificate and degree providers and programs.  Many of these great programs have helped develop talent pipelines for our Energy industry for many years.  The VEWC, VCCS and colleges will continue to work together to add additional Energy programs which will allow the Commonwealth’s talented students and citizens to contribute to the state’s Energy goals and commitments.

 

Virginia’s 4-year colleges and universities also play a very significant role in educating and preparing our industry’s future workforce and leaders.  Our 4-year schools offer both undergraduate and graduate level Energy programs.  These programs include minors and majors in Nuclear, Power Systems and other Energy engineering disciplines, as well as integrated business, science and technology programs focused on Energy.

 

Many of these 4-year students participate in Energy internships with employers across the Commonwealth where they find opportunities to apply their education in real world situations, potentially leading to full time career opportunities upon graduation.  As an example, Dominion Energy offers a best in class summer intern program with more than 250 interns and co-op students each year across a variety of majors and disciplines and with a 75 – 80% conversion rate of seniors joining the company full-time upon graduation.

 

These internships and other work-based learning opportunities are key to helping students at all levels recognize the importance of what they are learning, how it applies in the industry, and how they may contribute to the goals, innovation and growth of Energy in Virginia.  Energy industry companies are dedicated to serving our communities.  One way of giving back to our communities is providing our future workforce and future team members tours of our workplaces and facilities, team and competition coaching and mentoring, classroom visits, and more. 

 

In February 2021, I will have been with Dominion Energy for 13 years.  In this time, I’ve met and worked with so many talented and giving people who are human resource professionals, engineers and designers, line workers, power station operators, physical and cyber security specialists, lawyers, community and government relations representatives, chemists and biologists, and so many other careers  …  even a few, really cool meteorologists!

 

Energy is an amazing, critical and ever evolving industry.  One that provided more than 120 years-worth of meaningful careers to my family.  My hope is that the work that the VEWC, our education partners, and the Commonwealth of Virginia are doing will provide opportunities to others so they may provide for their families and give back to their communities for another 100 years … and that one of my daughters may have an interest in the Energy industry carrying on the family tradition!

 

Get into Energy, Virginia!

Matt Kellam

Military and Recruitment Program Coordinator for Dominion Energy